Gone Away ~ The journal of Clive Allen in America

On Deleting the Expletive
27/10/2005

A while back I had an email from Buck Worthington, of Buck the Legal System, letting me know how much he enjoyed my blog. His last sentence was: "It's nice to know someone still can write without all the F-bombs!" Thinking about this, I realize I have a few thoughts on the matter of swearing, both in blogs and in general, and (lucky you) I have decided to share them here.

As usual, I have only my own generation to blame for the present situation. Before the sixties, swearing was limited to the male sex (ooh, I used the word "sex" - that'll keep the search engines happy) and was generally reserved for the expression of strong emotions and thoughts. It was unthinkable that any man should swear in the presence of a lady and males pretended that such words would not even be known to the fairer sex (I don't care if that offends the feminists - women are generally much easier on the eye than men), let alone uttered by them.

As part of our rebellion against the perceived evils of our parents' generation, the sixties children decided to be "real" in the matter of forbidden swear words. Our point was that they are not magical and do not hold some special power; they are words, that's all. So we swore when we felt like it. And the females joined in with approval.

We were aware that this scandalized our parents and, of course, this just added to our determination to continue to swear at every opportunity. Today this might be called "sticking it to them". What escaped our notice was that this effect on our parents actually disproved our primary theory; the words did have power because we gave it to them. They had the power to shock our parents and they had the power to make us feel hip, rebellious and cool.

Years passed and, like so many of the new ideas that we played with in the sixties, swearing became the norm, gaining acceptance in almost all sections of society. It became, as Buck has pointed out, the exception not to litter one's speech with four letter words. And this produced two effects.

Firstly, the words began to lose their power. As they spread through everyone's normal conversation and from there into the printed word, the words lost their original meaning and became more like punctuation than anything else. We did not forget their meanings; it was more that they became subconscious, only to be highlighted on occasion by some conversational rebel. A short interchange that I remember from my days of working in a factory is the perfect illustration of this.

It was during a break and one fellow used the standard phrase to convey just about anything in any situation:

"Fookin' 'ell."

To which a much smarter guy returned:

"For your sake, I 'ope they do."

That was a much more profound statement than even the second speaker knew. We laughed, of course, and returned immediately to our habit of sprinkling such meaningless words throughout our conversation. The words had died and become no more than punctuation.

The second effect has become apparent through the printed word. The swear word, especially the F-bomb, has begun to substitute for meaningful adjectives and adverbs. It is so much easier to say "it was fucking bad" than to find the words that actually describe how bad it was. Sheer laziness has meant that vast numbers of us now use swear words to avoid having to describe something more accurately.

And it is this that I object to most. The young may think that I am offended by the words themselves but they are wrong; as I have explained, it was my generation that brought these words into the light so we are not shocked or scandalized by them. It's the thoughtless and unconscious way they are used by the young that offends me. They seem unaware that the constant use of such words illustrates not their coolness but their lack of originality or creativity. The words have become no more than the "baah" of sheep.

Just as an exercise, find a blog littered with such meaningless profanities and try deleting them. Does it alter the sense of what has been written? Of course it doesn't; the words are there merely as punctuation and as a sad attempt to be cool. In the end, all they amount to is a signal that the blog really isn't worth reading. And I suppose that they perform a useful function in that.

There are other words that do this particular job just as well, however. The meaningless "meh" is a sure sign that nothing of any note will follow, just as the word "so" used as the first word of a post is another excellent indication that it's time to move on to the next blog. So we really don't need all these swear words in blogging. They are meaningless, pointless and do nothing more than confirm that their user will never be a writer.

You may dismiss me as a dinosaur and uncool if you wish; that is your prerogative (look it up at dictionary.com). But you will be sentencing yourself to a lifetime of running with the herd, never writing anything worth reading and never changing anything in your world. And, as a final illustration, let me show you how swearing should be used - to convey passion and conviction:

For fuck's sake, let's stop all of this pointless swearing!

Clive

Beltane
I'm taking the 5th on this one. ;)
Pssh yeah, right, and monkeys fly outta my butt!
I swear a lot. It was in my household all the time, two parents and seven (older) siblings used them profusely. I was so adept as a child it was often my only defense against bullies. I could make them take a step back when I really let loose. It actually kept me out of one or two physical encounters. Yeah, I grew up in a not-so-nice part of town.
As far as adding them to my blogging... I only do when I'm not /writing/ if that makes any sense.
Insofar as reading a blog goes, I enjoy wit, even sprinkled with coarse language, when it sounds like someone is telling me instead of writing it to me. I can hear the tone of voice. And Clive, I am just on the opposite page here but, some stories just sound better with the f-bomb.
There are so many blogs out there. Plenty to please all types of readers.
Date Added: 27/10/2005

I hope you can enjoy the irony of the monkey reference :p Date Added: 27/10/2005

Yzabel
I can't say I never swear, there are a few words here that have so gone into the "normal" French language (notably Cambronne's famous 5-letters word ;)) that it's indeed not shocking anymore. When blogging... I'm not sure, since I'm not going to check all my posts, but I think I only use the F-one and similar when I'm going into a rant. (I don't proof-read my rants, so the words tend to just go out and flow by themselves). It's not every two lines, of course, and it depends on the day and on my mood, but thrown here and there--at a light dose only--such words can... well, perhaps help in highlighting? There are sentences or themes that can get more weight this way, rather than through chosen, well-worded language. Kind of like swearing as a kid to shock the parents, and see in awe and shock the parents suddenly use the F-word too.
M'kay, I'm not sure if this makes sense. It's nearing the moment when my brain may stop functioning any time. Maybe it even already has! Date Added: 27/10/2005

Gone Away
Special dispensation granted to Beltane for the monkey reference! And I hear what you're saying about background having a lot to do with it too; I would not disagree. The trouble is that most of the profanity-littered blogs are written by sweet young things who wouldn't know the wrong side of the tracks if it hit them in the face. It's so obviously done to be in with the "in crowd", it's pathetic. I'm just asking that they grow up a bit, Beltane - and you know I'm right! ;) Date Added: 27/10/2005

Gone Away
In fact, I think you're saying more or less what I was, Yzabel - that swearing is valid when used to express strong emotion. It's the pointless and incessant variety that annoys me, as it's done purely because the speaker or writer thinks it's cool. It isn't; it's just stupid. Date Added: 27/10/2005

Marti
Holy expletive! LOL
I am surfing BE for credits andI believe this is the FIRST time I have landed here. What a pleasure to see a familiar "face" pop up under the countdown!
I agree in not being offended by the obscenities themselves so much as the lack of imagination to exercise a broader vocabulary.
Wonderful writing as always! Hope you have a great day!
Date Added: 27/10/2005

Gone Away
Good to know that those hard-earned BE credits actually get put to use! Thanks, Marti, and I trust your day is as great as the one you wished me. :) Date Added: 27/10/2005

Lilya
Came in through BE... what a great f*ckin' essay! HEHEHE I'm just kidding.
I swear like a sailor in comfortable company... actually, I don't hold back if I'm so moved. But it's been a year now that I've been aware of how LAZY I've become by using swear words as adjectives... as if I've forgotten the English language!
So...I consider myself "caught" here... and validated too. Thanks for the post! Date Added: 27/10/2005

Michael
I think you make some good points, but to be honest, skipping any blog that starts a sentence with 'so' or makes liberal use of the word 'fuck' only makes you sound closed-minded, which is not, I think, what you were aiming for. For the record, I use the f-bomb quite often in my own blogging, and don't see any reason why I shouldn't. It isn't because I think I'm 'cool' and it isn't because I don't know how to express myself any other way. If anything, it's because I roll my eyes at anybody who says using a particular word in a particular place is 'wrong'. Just think how it would be if everybody wrote to the standards you hint at demanding in this post. Language, once you understand how it works, is a form that demands to be experimented with, not regimented. Date Added: 27/10/2005

Gone Away
Okay, Michael, let's engage in dialog on this. As regards ignoring any blog that starts with the word "so" or frequently uses profanities gratuitously, this is not a rule that I'm proposing but merely my observation from the experience of reading thousands of blogs. Rare indeed are those blogs that prove me wrong on this. And as for not knowing why you "shouldn't" use the F-word at every opportunity, I suggest that I have provided just a few reasons. My point is that everyone below a certain age is doing it. You do not stand out as different, clever, original or ground-breaking by using it; it just makes you look like the rest of the sheep and runs the risk of old fogies like me not bothering to listen to what you've got to say. You may not care about that; perhaps what you have to say is only for your own generation. That's up to you to decide. But you must admit that I have a point. There is nothing clever or imaginative in using the F-word anymore, especially when it means absolutely nothing in the context in which it is used.

As for setting rules for writing, if you had read the rest of my blog, you would know that I am somewhat of a rebel in this. There are all sorts of rules about how to write (set, no doubt, by the great minds of the academics who know nothing of life) and I spend much of my time in breaking their beloved rules. Thing is, Michael, if you want to write well, you have to engage people of all ages and walks of life. And swearing just doesn't hack it anymore. :) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Scot
Clive:
Good argument. I could not agree more with your assessment of how too many people rely on the expletive to express themselves, both in conversation and in writing. I'm particularly amused by those who think a rant has to be chock full of f this and f thats in order to make a point. A skilled ranter, though, doesn't. Phil Dillon has a few essays that exemplify how to make a blistering argument without having to use any expletive for effect.
Scot Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
How true, Scot. Phil is the master of powerful arguments without recourse to cheap expletives! But I'm glad that some, at least, are choosing to argue with me. I had almost lost hope of ever seeing any backbone in these young uns... ;) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Library Lady
I have a fine vocabulary of 4 letter words--learned them for the sake of protective coloring while in a fairly tough junior high school and have added onto them since then. And I use them, on occasion.

But "on occasion" means I pick and choose my places--not in front of my kids or in front of other people's kids. Or at work--at least not in the public areas of my library!

And I choose my times and use them for emphasis, not in the place of all the other words in my vocabulary.

With a lot of blogs, take away the expletive deleteds, and there's nothing left in the blog. That's not creative, and it's certainly not intelligent writing.

Yes, that's judgemental. So be it. When you are putting your blog up for the public to read, expect it to be judged. Expect that some of us judge a blog on more than its pretty graphics or lists of people who link to it. We judge it on the quality of the writing. And expletive deleteds are NOT impressive.

Gone Away
It seems to me that you use swear words in the way they were meant to be used, Library Lady - for emphasis! As you say, their gratuitous use here, there and everywhere is self-defeating and cannoty obscure a general lack of content. But as for spelling.... Well, I had my say on that a while back. Best leave it at that, I think. ;) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
And that's a non-committal comment, Gary! But thanks, I'll take it as a compliment. ;) Date Added: 28/10/2005

coolbeans
This is chewy, Clive. Very chewy. Steak for the brain.
I am guilty of using the word "so" too much. I decide I'm going to zap the extras where I can, but wonder if I'm somehow making my voice less authentic. Since my blog is a personal journal more than a tool to improve my writing*, I think that's a reasonable concern.

It is not offensive to me if you skip past my blog because I started a post or a paragraph with the word "so". If that is your criterion, I believe that what I write is not what you're looking to read. I think it is similar to my tendency to pass over blogs with lots of blinkies and buttons and very little original text.

I just spent a few minutes searching my main page for expletives. I didn't find any. I'm shocked but pleased.

*I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm a mother, not a writer. (Well, not a great writer anyway.) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
You are too hard on yourself, Coolbeans. Your blog is full of excellent content. And, even if I did say that starting a post with the word "so" is a good indicator that one should stop reading, I don't always do so. I give most blogs a decent try.

But, as for being a writer, believe me, you're a whole lot better than a lot who do consider themselves writers. So (I use it too but not to start a post with - it's a connecting word between two thoughts and, if there's no preceding thought, what the heck is it supposed to be connecting with?) my post was not directed at you at all. :)

I agree with you about the blinkies and buttons too! Date Added: 28/10/2005

Mad
I think - and I may well be wrong - that I've only used fuck once in all my posts. The one time I used it was because I really was that infuriated. Used sparingly it's an effective word, over use it and becomes meaningless sound.

An odd thing happens to me with swearing: people think I don't swear, when in actual fact I swear quite a lot. After years of working in restaurants you can't help but turn the air blue once you're impassioned.

Actually this post reminds me of something. In my last restaurant I knew that I would never work in catering again and I would day-dream about how I was going to leave. My plan was that on my last night ever waitering I would get the hosts who sat my tables to tell all the customers "Your waiter for tonight is Mad, if he says anything a little odd don't worry he has a Tourettes syndrome" thereby giving me carte blanche to give full force to my loathing of customers...
Fortunately for the dining public of Coventry I didn't know my last night was my last night so it never happened. Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
I remember the Tourettes plan, Mad; pity it never went into action. But I know a few blogs that could claim it as excuse...

The reason people don't think you swear is because you were so well brought up. :D Date Added: 28/10/2005

EnergyPaws
Great Post! I found your blog on Blog Explosion and boy am I glad I did! I'll be coming back often! Date Added: 28/10/2005

Matt
Great post, Clive. I am very much in agreement about the usage of colorful metaphors, to borrow a Trekism. My take on it is that there is nothing wrong with swearing, as such, among other adults. But many people tend to use these less-polite terms as a crutch. They need a way to accentuate that they are unhappy (or very happy) about something so instead of using their heads and finding an elegant means of expressing that thought, they settle on the usage of the f-bomb or whatever else. The part that gets me about that is the slow death of the English language as not just a means to communicate, but a means to communicate well and deliver nuance and style along with the actual meaning.
There are other things that distress me to some smaller degree about this trend, however. For instance, a writer who over-utilizes these terms tends to paint themselves in a certain light and it is not an attractive one. It is the light of the unimaginative and potentially uneducated. Throwing foul language around on paper (or in pixels) says absolutely nothing good about who you are as a human being.
Another thing that bothers me is that there are still some people who are offended by language. Some might be tempted to say "f*&* 'em!", but that's a very self-absorbed sort of reaction. It negates that anyone's opinions about language or values have any meaning if they are not the same as yours. It suggests that society should accept the lowest common denominator, rather than strive for the highest. Two words: mediocrity sucks. In language, and in life. Be better than you have to be. That's how you get places.
And the last, and maybe least, thing that rubs me wrongly about this trend is the devaluation of the profanity itself. My grandfather was a good man. I respected, admired and loved him very much. He was an average Joe. Fought in WW2, came home, married my grandmother and stayed with her until death did them part. He was a postal worker for 30+ years. Not an intellectual sort by any stretch of the imagination (not to say he wasn't intelligent... just that he wasn't an intellectual). Anyway, I rarely heard him swear. I can count on one hand the number of times. But when he did, they were good ones. I remember him talking with a very old friend of his who came to visit from New York, who my grandfather had known since he was a kid. They were talking about a guy that grandpa had had a falling out with way back when. Grandpa used the word "bastard" to describe the guy. And it didn't come from his mouth as a meaningless adjective or minor punctuation of the dislike that my grandfather had for this man. It had very strong meaning to him. It wasn't used lightly. I was shocked by how this sounded, versus how I had heard other people swear. And every time that I heard him use a colorful metaphor after that, I noticed the same thing. He meant these things when he said them. I resolved as a young man, that I was going to swear like my grandfather. Which is to say that I would not do it often, and when I did, I would strive to be sure that I meant it in hopes of achieving the level of power those words had when he said them. Sadly, I fall short of this fairly often, and a meaningless epithet escapes. But I keep trying. Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
Very thoughtful response, Matt, and I agree with everything you say. The power of a swear word from the lips of someone who hardly ever swears is amazing. And the things is - all those who use swear words all the time, what do they say to express their feelings when they hit their thumb with a hammer? Having devalued any of the usual swear words by constant repetition, it must take real originality to come up with something suitable to the occasion! ;) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
Had a quick read through, Sorrow, and didn't see a single f-bomb. A "crap" or two but hey, they were appropriate in context. I see you have been reviewed by Teh Blogfather - surely you're not so greedy as to require a review from me too? ;)

P.S. Cheer up, things can only get better. :) Date Added: 28/10/2005

Broken MessengerSheer laziness has meant that vast numbers of us now use swear words to avoid having to describe something more accurately.
A sad and yet very true thing, Clive. Words of the four letter variety have become nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs for just about everything. They not only show our laziness, they show our true ignorance over what we are truly saying, not to mention how profane the words are, and though we usually mean something entirely different than what the word itself really means. Even worse, many ascribe maturity and strength to the use of such words.
Good *&^%$ article Clive! :o)
Brad
Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
Thanks, Brad. Will be over to catch up on your blog later today - been meaning to get there for ages and keep getting deflected! Date Added: 28/10/2005

Michael
Clive, I freely admit I haven't read the rest of your blog. And the reason for that is that it didn't engage me. That isn't, I hasted to add, a slight on your writing or your thoughts. It's just that your things aren't really my things. This particular post, however, engaged me and inspired me to comment.
In my own writing, I don't aim to engage all ages and walks of life because such a thing is impossible. I write, mainly, for a single reader. If others enjoy the results, great. If they hate them, great. The only reaction that ever really bothers me is ambivalence.
It's very easy to dismiss others with throwaway insults like 'sheep', just as it's very easy to use the word 'fuck'. And just as the latter offends your sensibilities, the former offends mine. It implies a superficial analysis and an unwillingness to be challenged. I tend not to be able to read writing with this kind of an attitude for very long.
Anyway, I may have overstated my point a little, and I hope that I don't seem argumentative to the point of rudeness. That wasn't and isn't my intent. I agree with you that expletives are overused. What I don't agree with is that it necessarily follows that any profanity-laced piece of writing is a poor one. I love Henry Miller, and he cursed like a sailor.
Whether I care what you think is a moot point at this stage. I cared enough to read your post, I cared enough to comment, and I cared enough to read and consider your reply before posting again. I would hope that speaks for itself. Date Added: 28/10/2005

Michael
And...uh...I guess my complete and total ignorance of the humble paragraph in that last post speaks for itself, too. Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
No problem, Michael - I often forget to put in the paragraph breaks, too.

When I mentioned that you would have known that I don't hold with any "rules of writing" had you read my blog, I was not intending that you should do so. That would be way beyond the call of duty and a terrible task! It was mentioned merely as proof that I am not quite the rigid man of the law I think you took me for originally.

The matter of likening people to sheep if they swear incessantly: for many years I worked with teenagers who had been excluded from school. Their normal conversation consisted of standard hip phrases, liberally laced with swear words, and part of my work consisted of enlarging their vocabularies so that they were better able to communicate with others outside their immediate peer group. I see exactly the same patterns of speech in so many blogs that I must presume that this is how many of the younger bloggers speak. Cut out the profanities and there is very little content left. It's merely an observation, not an opinion. The fact that this is so widespread indicates that it's pretty much the norm for the youth of today and I find that a shame, given that English has the largest vocabulary of any language. Pardon me while I mourn for what is being lost.

One thing I have noticed through this post is the large number of people who assume that I'm pointing a finger at them in particular. In fact, I don't think any of those who might be classified as unthinking users of constant profanity have bothered to read it, let alone comment. Your own blog, Michael, I found to be fairly free of such language and any use of swear words was to illustrate strong feelings, just as they should be used. Your comments too have indicated an excellent grasp of language and how to use it as a tool of logic so, once again, I would have to say that you do not qualify as the target for my post (there was none in particular in mind anyway).

And I do appreciate that you took the time to read and respond to the post. I know that my posts tend to be a bit longer than the average but, like you, I have to conclude that it's great if people read them and just as good if they don't. In the end, I guess it's all about markets; we reach the people we're designed for. And the youth will continue to "meh" and swear voluminously for each other's benefit and old fogies like me will continue to lament the state that the youth are in. Such is life, I guess. Date Added: 28/10/2005

Gone Away
Oh, and two things I forgot (age is an excellent excuse). May I ask who is the one reader you write for? Obviously, you don't have to answer but I find that statement intriguing; there has to be a story behind it.

And the other is this matter of "unwillingness to be challenged". It's the one thing I find objectionable in your response, Michael. If I were unwilling to be challenged, I would hardly post such a controversial article in the first place. And I actually enjoy it when people are prepared to argue with whatever I've said. The whole point is to throw something out for discussion; if we all agree, the thing's hardly worth saying at all. Take your own comments and my responses, for instance. Fairly extensive yet quite orderly, wouldn't you say? I love it! :D Date Added: 29/10/2005

Matt
Michael, throwing an F-bomb (or even several of them) into a sentence or paragraph doesn't make it more challenging. I'm sure Clive is very capable of reading the characters "F", "U", "C" and "K" and attributing sound and meaning to them. All without any serious working of grey matter needing to occur.

Overuse of any word or group of words is just tedious.
Date Added: 29/10/2005

John
Great post Clive, and I totally agree with you, the only thing... could you repeat the last paragraph, I am hard of reading!
GBYAY Date Added: 29/10/2005

Michael
I think I'm out of the argument about the use of profanity. It is what it is, and I don't think it's necessarily bad. On that, we shall have to share a little common ground while agreeing to disagree about the edges.

As to the one reader, at this point in my life, it's my wife. I think it has always been a lover, in some shape or form, just never so defined as now. Date Added: 29/10/2005

And fair enough about agreeing to disagree. I think we have enough common ground not to go to war over the thing... Date Added: 29/10/2005

John (Syntagma Media)
Didn't have time to read the thousands of comments, as I usually do, so forgive if I repeat what others have written.

The use of expletives is like a Neandathal grunt, a substitute for precision and meaning, as you've said, Clive. Usually they're used aggressively, which seems to be the way of things nowadays. If someone is totally relaxed, they rarely use them. Interestingly, listening to youngsters walking through the town it's clear they use them without knowing that they are. It's just a reflex, a habitual knee-jerk gleaned from Hollywood films. Apparently, Tony Blair uses them all the time in private, no doubt thinking it's cool. I remember a German woman saying, "But why use sexual terms to mean 'bad'? Surely they're good?" I could never answer that one. Date Added: 29/10/2005

Gone Away
Good points all, John, especially the one made by the German lady. I'd like to hear someone answer that one! Date Added: 29/10/2005

Janus
I try to avoid swearing needlessly when I write in public and private almost as much as I try to avoid smilies and needless LOLs.
I do swear much more in casual conversation with some of my friends and coworkers I have known for years, because that's how we used to talk back in those more carefree days.
It is especially entertaining when one of us becomes a parent, and they immediatly work at talking less offensively, especially around their kids.
When Karl says "Durn" I can't help but laugh my ass off. Karl makes me sound like Father Dowling when children aren't present. Take him to the bar and have a few drinks though and the teenage boy I used to cause trouble with shines through. Date Added: 09/11/2005

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